There is an "imperative need" for the medical profession "to assume, in full, its responsibility for the quality, continuity and availability of professional services, and for the coordination of these services with the other essential supportive aspects of health care." This challenge, issued by Willard A. Wright, MD, chairman of the Council on Medical Service, served to introduce the extensive Report on Physician-Hospital Relations presented to the House of Delegates at the San Francisco Convention. The report, which is the summation of several years' work by the Council's Committee on Medical Facilities, is summarized in this issue of The Journal (p 74). The conclusions and recommendations, as adopted by the House of Delegates, emphasize that the responsibilities of the medical profession must be implemented in the hospital area through the medical staffs.
To assure that this responsibility is carried out, supervision is essential through the officer and committee structure of